## Facts

- Ronald Cassano died accidentally, and an action was brought under New Jersey’s Wrongful Death Act.
- Jane Struble lived with Cassano in a long-term, marriage-like cohabitation for about seven years.
- Struble and Cassano intended to marry but never had a marriage ceremony and were not legally married.
- Struble sought a share of wrongful-death proceeds based on her alleged pecuniary loss as Cassano’s surviving partner.
- The defendant moved for summary judgment to dismiss Struble’s claim on the ground that she was not a statutory beneficiary.

## Issues

1. Whether an unmarried cohabitant in a long-term, marriage-like relationship qualifies as a wrongful-death beneficiary under N.J.S.A. 2A:31-4 as a “surviving spouse” or other intestate taker.
2. Whether courts may extend the Wrongful Death Act’s beneficiary class beyond persons entitled to take the decedent’s intestate personal property.

## Decision

- The court granted the defendant’s motion for summary judgment dismissing Struble’s beneficiary claim.
- The court held that an unmarried cohabitant is not a person “entitled to take any intestate personal property of the decedent” and therefore cannot recover under the Wrongful Death Act.
- The court declined to treat Struble as the equivalent of a “surviving spouse” absent a legal marriage.

## Legal Principles

- Wrongful-death proceeds under N.J.S.A. 2A:31-4 are for the exclusive benefit of persons entitled to take the decedent’s intestate personal property; the intestacy statute controls the beneficiary class.
- “Spouse” in statutes tied to family status is understood to require a legally valid marriage unless the Legislature provides otherwise.
- Legislative authority over intestate succession and statutory beneficiary classes is controlling; courts should not enlarge statutory categories based on policy preferences.
- Contract-based remedies between cohabitants (including palimony-type claims) do not confer statutory heir status and do not expand eligibility to recover under the Wrongful Death Act.

## Conclusion

The court held that New Jersey’s Wrongful Death Act limits recovery to intestate takers, and an unmarried cohabitant—even in a long-term relationship with an intent to marry—does not qualify as a statutory beneficiary absent a legal marriage or legislative change.


Cassano v. Durham, 180 N.J. Super. 620, 436 A.2d 118 (Law Div. 1981)